Veetje, a pedal powered nesting dinghy

For almost 2 decades I've had pedal power in my mind. This may not come as a surprise if you know I am from the Netherlands, where there are more than 1 bicycles per person.

But this is not about cycling, it is about boating. And as my daughter was getting older, having something to play around in came more to the forefront.

I stumbled across a Hobie Mirage kayak with damage, which I bought for the excellent pedal drive. After repairing the kayak, we took it on holiday. I loved having it along, but did not like taking it with us....

It is too big & heavy to pull up on to the boat and towing it was no fun either. And I could not take my daughter along as it was a 1 person kayak.

I started looking for an alternative but just like it was when I looked for light weight self steering, I could not find a suitable solution. Naturally I decided to create it myself.

My wishes:

• Nestable
• Sailable
• Suitable for the Hobie Mirage drive
• 2 person side by side
• Suitable for short and tall people

And here it is:

This is the first seasons image, as a prototype it is still being developed.

Features:

• Hull made from a single sheet of plywood
• Interior needed more than 1.5 additional sheets
• Stitch and glue construction, covered with glass/epoxy
• V- bottom hull
• Longest possible water line for its length
• Coloured epoxy coating
• Seats 2 side by side
• Current weight about 35 kgs in 6 mm plywood.

To do:

• Add centerboard and optimist sailing rig

About the name

Veetje means little Vee in Dutch.

Are you interested in building this dinghy? I'd like to know!

Please send an email, and include what kind of process you'd like your build to be:

• Set of free but basic plans?
• Set of elaborate plans, paid?
• A kit with just the plywood, or maybe all the materials?